How to Get the Best Photos for Pinterest

This post was going to be about how I style my pictures. But then I was thinking nah, all I really do it just throw together some stuff at the last minute and BOOM. So, that wouldn’t be too useful! I’m going to cover How to Get the Best Photos for Pinterest instead. This is a little more up my alley, my pictures are much more pin-able then they once were, if I do say so myself!

Good Lighting is a Must

I’m really still working on this one, as I mentioned in my Tips for Blogging on a Budget Part 1 post I use a lightbox for a lot of my pictures. But really the best lighting is natural. If at any way possible try to take the pictures in direct sunlight, on a kitchen table or outside on a patio.

Camera Position

To get a great Pinterest picture I have found that if you hold your camera vertical instead of horizontal, you will achieve those longer pics that are perfect for Pinterst boards. Try to get enough room at the top of the picture to get one of those great titles too. It is easier to crop the picture then not having enough room! For editing your pictures Parrish wrote a great tutorial last week for how to Make Your Photos Amazing on a budget.

Writing Pretty Titles

Once my pictures are all edited one of my finishing touches is a nice catchy title with pretty fonts. When I used to only use picmonkey I got very frustrated with their lack of font options so I started downloaded them for free. I get free downloadable fonts from dafont.com, they have options that will keep you occupied for hours! (Don’t ask me how I know…) Just download a bunch that you like and you’re ready to get creative! (If you would like me to do a post about my favorite fonts, let me know!) Now, to use your newly downloaded fonts in a free picture editor website you need to use pixlr.com, the advanced option.

Labeling Pictures

This is one point I’d like to cover that won’t necessarily make your pictures prettier but it will save you a lot of heartache in the future. Whatever you do, start watermarking your photos! All you need is your blog name or url in a corner and that will help from others stealing your pictures and ideas!

Along with that, while you are putting those beautiful new pictures in your post you should be labeling them. So, when someone pins the image directly from your site and not using a fancy Pinterest button the info in the description of the pin will still get seen. You can do this by adding the picture to the post, click on it and then in the two areas that say “title” and “alternative text” write the description of the item. For an example I will be labeling the main image of this post: “How to Get the Best Photos for Pinterest from http://ThisSillyGirlsLife.com #Pinterest #Photos #Blogging101” So every time I get a pin, it will automatically say this in the pins description, that is unless the pinner changes it which you have no control over. Tip: Putting the full url will also make it a click-able link!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Lesson! To read Parrish’s weekly lesson: Make Your Own Social Media Icons for Free Click the image below:

P.S. My little corner of the internets is really growing! Ad spots are now available for purchase! To find out more information like this blogs stats or how to buy ad space please visit my PR and Advertising page (check back often for current discounts). Thank you!

Hello Dana, this is such a great post & makes many little important things so obvious. Shared it via Twitter, as it might be needed by others. 🙂 Very nice to meet you, just found your blog at the I Love My Post LOVE hop 🙂

Thank you so much for this – I honestly have no idea how to do pictures well for Pinterest in fact I’ve had gotten to the point where I had more of less given up on it – I think though with these tips in mind I shall try again!